Harry Potter turned sharply on his heel, picking up his pace as he tried to rush away from the shadowy corridor.
Before he could take more than a few strides, a firm hand reached out from the darkness and caught him tightly by the wrist.
Harry stopped, turning around to find Hermione staring at him with deep concern.
Hermione asked, "What are you doing here, Harry?"
Ron stepped out from the shadows beside her, folding his arms across his chest as he eyed his best friend.
Ron asked, "Where are you going, Mr. Harry?"
"That too without us," Ron added.
Harry Potter shook his head, his face pale and drawn under the dim torchlight.
Harry Potter replied softly, "I don't know."
"But I feel a dark danger is going to loom over Hogwarts," Harry Potter admitted, his voice tight with anxiety.
"And also, I feel letting James and his friends fight that dangerous, dark Voldemort by themselves while we stay here to protect Hogwarts is a foolish idea," Harry Potter declared.
Ron raised his eyebrows in disbelief.
Ron exclaimed, "What a foolish idea!"
"Harry," Ron said firmly.
Suddenly, Harry Potter clutched his head as a sharp, agonizing surge of pain tore through his skull.
Harry Potter gasped out, "AH!"
His vision blurred, dark spots dancing before his eyes as the surrounding corridor vanished into a cold, suffocating haze. In the dark depths of his vision, a spectral figure of Voldemort emerged from the shadows, silently echoing his name.
"Harry..."
Ron, entirely unaware of the vision tearing through Harry's mind, shook his head in frustration.
Ron asked, "How can you say it is foolish?"
"Sending our children there is not a joke," Ron pointed out.
"Even our daughter Rose was with James and their friends to save Hogwarts, and they are the ones who brought us back alive by killing those monsters sent by Voldemort," Ron reminded him.
Ron asked, "Have you forgotten how we killed all those dementors and the massive army sent by Voldemort?"
Harry snapped out of the trance, shouting back as fear and desperation took over.
Harry shouted, "I feel it is just a trap!"
"Yes, we may have saved Hogwarts for a moment," Harry admitted, his chest heaving.
"My gut is telling me that Hogwarts is in even greater danger right now," Harry insisted.
Hermione stepped forward, her brow furrowed with growing alarm.
Hermione asked softly, "What are you trying to say?"
Harry Potter answered, "I feel something is seriously not right."
Ron sighed, trying to offer a reassuring smile.
Ron said, "Miss Amelia is there to protect Hogwarts, Harry."
"Don't worry," Ron added.
Harry didn't smile back; his expression remained stony and grim.
A sudden flash of reflected light caught his attention. On the stone floor nearby, a large mirror lay shattered into sharp, jagged pieces.
Hermione looked down at the broken glass in surprise.
Hermione asked, "Why are these mirror pieces fallen here?"
Harry stepped closer to the glass, gazing down at his own reflection. His breath caught in his throat as a familiar, burning sensation flared across his forehead.
Right beneath his messy hair, the iconic lightning-bolt scar—which had completely faded and vanished months after he defeated Voldemort—was glowing with a faint, crimson light.
Harry Potter stared at his reflection, utterly shocked and bewildered.
"What is happening here?" Harry Potter silently asked himself.
A cold wave of terror gripped his heart as his thoughts immediately flew to his son.
Harry whispered under his breath, "James..."
Deep within the dark forest...
James Potter sat alone on a damp, mossy rock, his mind caught in a turbulent state of confusion.
A few yards away, he spotted Elthira sitting near the edge of a quiet pond. James stood at a distance, watching her as she leaned over the clear water.
Elthira dipped her hand into the pond, but the moment her skin touched the water, a sharp, searing pain shot through her arm.
Elthira shrieked, "AH!"
James's heart spiked with tension. Seeing her hunch over and begin to cry in pain, he immediately unzipped his travel bag and frantically searched for a clean bandage.
Suddenly, the air around him grew heavy with a strange, pulsing aura.
The ancient locket given to him by Guardian Chang began to emit a bright, rhythmic blue glow beneath his shirt. Simultaneously, the legendary Gryffindor Sword strapped to his back began to hum and radiate an intense, blinding light.
James stared down at his chest, completely baffled by the reaction.
He remembered Guardian Chang's enigmatic words when he had handed over the artifact.
Guardian Chang had said with a knowing smile, "Keep it. It will be of great use to you later."
Curious and desperate for answers, James reached out and wrapped his fingers around the hilt of the Gryffindor Sword.
The moment his skin made contact with the steel, a violent surge of dark, repulsive magic coursed through his body like a powerful electric shock.
James screamed in agony, "AH!"
He cradled his trembling hand against his chest, gasping for air as the pain slowly receded.
James asked himself in horror, "Why can't I touch this sword now?"
James demanded in his mind, "WHY?"
James pondered, "Do this locket and the Gryffindor Sword have some deep, unknown connection?"
Forcing the mystery aside for the moment, James retrieved a clean roll of bandage and a tube of healing ointment from his bag. He walked over to the pond and sat down softly beside Elthira.
Reaching into his coat pocket, James pulled out his precious house key and offered it to her.
Elthira—who was actually Rose in disguise—stared at the key before gently shaking her head in refusal.
Elthira said softly, "No, it's fine."
Elthira advised quietly, "Please leave from here, or else your team may misunderstand you."
Seeing her reluctance, James placed the key back in his pocket. With no other choice, he reached out and gently wiped the tears from her face.
He carefully took her hand—which appeared rough and disfigured under her spell—and brought over a pouch of fresh water to wash away the grime from her wound.
James then squeezed a portion of the soothing cream onto his fingers and applied it gently to her injuries before wrapping the bandage neatly around her palm.
Elthira looked up, a faint, genuine smile gracing her lips as she watched him tend to her wounds with such tenderness and care.
Elthira asked softly, "Why are you taking care of me?"
Elthira reminded him, "I tried to kill you and your friends in the past."
James finished tying the knot on the bandage without speaking, keeping his head down as he packed the remaining ointment away.
He stood up slowly, looking down at her with honest eyes.
James replied quietly, "I don't know."
James admitted, "But I can't stand seeing people in pain and fear."
James added firmly, "And I believe you won't harm me or my friends."
Without waiting for a response, James turned around and began walking back toward his group's camp.
James said over his shoulder, "I believe you are also part of my team."
Rose remained seated by the pond, watching his receding back until he vanished into the dark foliage.
Rose asked herself in her mind, "Why are you always so good and kind to everyone, James?"
Rose thought, tears of warmth welling in her eyes, "I realized a long time ago that I had feelings for you..."
Rose confessed in her heart, "But now, seeing you like this, I am falling deeply and hopelessly in love with you."
Rose declared in her thoughts, "I LOVE YOU, JAMES SIRIUS POTTER!"
Meanwhile, on the other side of the woods...
Voldemort, still disguised flawlessly in the physical form of Rose Granger-Weasley, stalked through the shadows, his dark eyes scanning the tree lines.
Voldemort thought, "I have to steal that Gryffindor Sword from James."
Voldemort paused, sensing footsteps approaching from behind, and turned around sharply.
There stood Kael Night Shade.
Kael dropped down onto one knee, holding a single, vibrant red rose up toward Voldemort with an expression of complete, romantic devotion.
Kael declared dramatically, "I LOVE YOU, ROSE!"
Voldemort's jaw clenched, a wave of absolute revulsion and fury surging through his veins as he stared down at the kneeling boy.
Voldemort roared inside his mind, "I WON'ON'T SPARE YOU, KAEL, YOU ABSOLUTE LOSER!"
Voldemort sneered internally, "I am going to kill you right here today anyway, since no one else is around to save you."
Voldemort raged in his thoughts, "BE READY TO GET KILLED BY THE DARK LORD FOR DARING TO LOVE ME AND TORTURING MY PATIENCE!"
"You irritating, shameless creature..."